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PAS group starts campaign to stay in Pakatan

KUALA LUMPUR: Some PAS members have started a campaign to ensure the Islamist party stays in Pakatan Rakyat (PR), in what could be a challenge to Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s conservative leadership in the party.

The Persatuan Ummah Sejahtera Malaysia (PasMa) was formed after some 100 PAS members met in Kota Baru on Sunday, say sources, to counter the possibility of PAS leaving the pact to share power with Umno.

“During the meeting on Merdeka Day, we gathered more than 100 people from across the country to make sure PAS’s battle is on the right track,” one of the movement’s founders told The Malaysian Insider.

The movement was initiated after Hadi told a central committee meeting on Aug 25 that he wished to cooperate with Umno to form the Selangor state government.

The Malaysian Insider last week reported on Hadi’s proposal that PAS, Umno and Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim work together, with PKR deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali as the new menteri besar.

Hadi’s political secretary, Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, denied the report but The Malaysian Insider stood by its original report.

A source told The Malaysian Insider that PasMa will conduct briefings across the country to explain why PAS must remain with PR.

The first briefing will be held at a hotel in Shah Alam on Sept 8, and will be conducted by three panellists: PAS vice-president Datuk Husam Musa, central committee member Datuk Mujahid Yusof Rawa and former Shura council member Ahmad Awang.